1. Field
Embodiments disclosed herein relate to optical fiber cables or implementations thereof suitable for use with optical fiber installations.
2. Related Technology
Conventional optical fiber cables include an optical fiber having a core, a cladding, and a coating. The size of a cable is commonly referred to by the outer diameters of its respective core, cladding, and coating. For example, a 50/125/250 cable indicates a cable having a core with a diameter of 50 micrometers, a cladding with a diameter of 125 micrometers, and a coating with a diameter of 250 micrometers.
In many optical fiber installations, it has become desirable to minimize the cross-sectional thickness of the individual optical fiber cables of the installation in order to save space and allow room for more connections. This has resulted in a dramatic trend toward the use of thinner cables in installations. However, the trend towards thinner cables has also given rise to concerns regarding durability, as thinner cables tend to be more fragile. A particular point of concern is the connection point between an optical fiber cable and an optical assembly, such as a transmitter optical subassembly (herein, “TOSA”) or a receiver optical subassembly (herein, “ROSA”).
To facilitate connection of the optical fiber cable to the optical assembly, a connection component such as a ferrule may be operably coupled to an end of the optical fiber cable. The connection component may be configured to engage with a receptacle of the optical assembly at a connection point. The connection point between the optical fiber cable and optical assembly has been an area of particular durability concerns because the cable may be subjected to a tensile force when the connection component is operably connected to the optical assembly and to localized bending forces when the connection component is manipulated. Because an epoxy within the connection component may be configured to fixedly secure the length of optical fiber therein, the epoxy may improperly disperse these forces onto the cable, resulting in the formation of cracks along the core and the cladding of the optical fiber. If the forces are sufficiently sustained or severe, the core and/or the cladding may even break.
The subject matter claimed herein is not limited to embodiments that solve any disadvantages or that operate only in environments such as those described above. Rather, this background is only provided to illustrate one example technology area where some embodiments described herein may be practiced.